The National Republican Congressional Committee has added Greg Cunningham to its 2026 “MAGA Majority” program, the latest in a series of national Republican investments backing the Marine Corps combat veteran’s bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District.

The NRCC announced the designation this week, placing Cunningham among 16 candidates nationally that the committee has identified as key targets in its effort to expand the House Republican majority in 2026. The program provides early financial support, strategic resources and national visibility to candidates running in districts where the committee sees Democratic incumbents as vulnerable.

The move builds on a Trump endorsement Cunningham received earlier this month. President Trump called Cunningham his “complete and total” pick to flip NM-02, framing the race as a choice between Cunningham and what he described as a far-left Democrat who voted to raise taxes and opposed border enforcement.

“As a Marine Corps veteran, former Albuquerque police officer, and lifelong New Mexican, Greg Cunningham is ready to defeat radical Democrat Gabe Vasquez and flip NM-02 red this November,” NRCC spokesman Reilly Richardson said.

Cunningham, 59, spent more than two decades as an Albuquerque police officer and undercover detective after serving in the Marine Corps, including combat deployments. He also carries the endorsement of former Rep. Yvette Herrell, the Republican who previously held the NM-02 seat before Vasquez defeated her in 2022.

Cunningham is running effectively unopposed in the June 2 Republican primary after his sole GOP challenger, Jose Orozco, withdrew from the race and endorsed Cunningham. Orozco’s name will still appear on the ballot, however — he missed the Secretary of State’s deadline to file withdrawal paperwork.

Vasquez, who narrowly won the seat in both 2022 and 2024, faces no Democratic primary opponent.

The Cook Political Report rates NM-02 a toss-up. The district, which stretches from Albuquerque’s West Side through southern New Mexico’s oil patch and border communities, has flipped between the parties in each of the last three election cycles. Trump lost New Mexico by six points in 2024 — the strongest Republican presidential performance in the state since George W. Bush carried it in 2004.